New Events

National

no events posted in last week

Blog Feeds

Public Inquiry
Interested in maladministration. Estd. 2005

offsite link RTEs Sarah McInerney ? Fianna Fail?supporter? Anthony

offsite link Joe Duffy is dishonest and untrustworthy Anthony

offsite link Robert Watt complaint: Time for decision by SIPO Anthony

offsite link RTE in breach of its own editorial principles Anthony

offsite link Waiting for SIPO Anthony

Public Inquiry >>

Human Rights in Ireland
Promoting Human Rights in Ireland

Human Rights in Ireland >>

Lockdown Skeptics

The Daily Sceptic

offsite link News Round-Up Mon Dec 23, 2024 01:12 | Richard Eldred
A summary of the most interesting stories in the past 24 hours that challenge the prevailing orthodoxy about the ?climate emergency?, public health ?crises? and the supposed moral defects of Western civilisation.
The post News Round-Up appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Staff at ?100 Million Alan Turing Institute Attack ?Chaotic? Management Amid Diversity Row Sun Dec 22, 2024 19:00 | Richard Eldred
Staff at the ?100 million Alan Turing Institute have erupted in protest over a diversity row, accusing leadership of "tokenistic" hiring and sparking fears that the organisation's credibility is at risk.
The post Staff at ?100 Million Alan Turing Institute Attack ?Chaotic? Management Amid Diversity Row appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link ?Our Irish Leaders Have Contributed to Hatred Against Jews? Sun Dec 22, 2024 17:00 | Richard Eldred
Ireland's Chief Rabbi has blasted the country's leaders for fuelling antisemitism, leaving Jewish children hiding their identities and many others afraid to wear symbols of their faith.
The post ?Our Irish Leaders Have Contributed to Hatred Against Jews? appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link ?Grocery Tax? to Hike Britons? Shopping Bills by ?56 in Labour Net Zero ?Inflation Boost? Sun Dec 22, 2024 15:00 | Richard Eldred
Labour's "grocery tax" is set to punish British families, slapping an extra ?56 onto their shopping bills and driving up inflation, all in the name of Net Zero.
The post ?Grocery Tax? to Hike Britons? Shopping Bills by ?56 in Labour Net Zero ?Inflation Boost? appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Furious German Protesters Demand Mass Deportations Following Christmas Market Attack by Saudi Doctor... Sun Dec 22, 2024 13:00 | Richard Eldred
Over 1,000 protesters have flooded Magdeburg, demanding mass deportations after a Saudi psychiatrist killed five people and injured over 200 in a Christmas market attack.
The post Furious German Protesters Demand Mass Deportations Following Christmas Market Attack by Saudi Doctor, Leaving Five Dead Including a Nine Year-Old Boy appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

Lockdown Skeptics >>

Voltaire Network
Voltaire, international edition

offsite link Voltaire, International Newsletter N?113 Fri Dec 20, 2024 10:42 | en

offsite link Pentagon could create a second Kurdish state Fri Dec 20, 2024 10:31 | en

offsite link How Washington and Ankara Changed the Regime in Damascus , by Thierry Meyssan Tue Dec 17, 2024 06:58 | en

offsite link Statement by President Bashar al-Assad on the Circumstances Leading to his Depar... Mon Dec 16, 2024 13:26 | en

offsite link Voltaire, International Newsletter N?112 Fri Dec 13, 2024 15:34 | en

Voltaire Network >>

IRELAND: New Head Arrives - Same Old Reactionary Politics?

category national | rights, freedoms and repression | news report author Sunday June 04, 2017 17:46author by séamas carraher - globalrights.infoauthor email cultureofliberation at gmail dot com Report this post to the editors

As minister-for-poverty in one of the richest countries in the World (or at least one of the most indebted) Minister Varadkar achieved fame in the run up to the Leadership context with his April 2017 Campaign against welfare recipients and the unemployed: ‘Welfare cheats cheat us all“.

My systemic examination of social welfare processes for recovering overpayments is continuing in 2017...” — Irish Ombudsman Peter Tyndall

Ireland now inherits a new Taoiseach and the Fine Gael party a new head on boring-old-shoulders, existing Minister for Social Protection Leo Varadkar just securing his place in the leadership contest, despite his lack of support (a mere 35%) among rank-and file Fine Gaelers...

As minister-for-poverty in one of the richest countries in the World (or at least one of the most indebted) Minister Varadkar achieved fame in the run up to the Leadership context with his April 2017 Campaign against welfare recipients and the unemployed: 'Welfare cheats cheat us all".

"Nothing upsets people more than someone else cheating the system at their expense. That’s why we are launching a new campaign to encourage members of the public to report suspected or known cases of welfare fraud..." the Minister told us...coyly.

Now as he tries his new crown on for size he will probably be able to ignore the recent report from the Irish Ombudsman, who deals with complaints from frustrated Irish citizens "about how they have been treated by public bodies in Ireland. The Ombudsman can examine decisions, refusals to take action and administrative procedures of public bodies."

With no axes-to-grind on behalf of a government - apparently horrified at the thought of a few dole recipients doing "nixers" and possibly claiming a paltry 42 million euros (possibly - ? - or is it €500 million?) in benefits while fighting an extended battle to return €13 billion in tax to the-not-strapped-for-cash Apple Corporation (only this May, Margrethe Vestager, the EU’s Competition Commissioner, pointed out that Ireland was taking too long to recover the €13 billion in back-taxes owed by Apple!) - the Ombudsman’s findings add a new dimension to the campaign to isolate the cheating citizens currently being stalked by the Department of Social Protection ('Helping You Build A Better Life'):

"During 2015 and 2016, I noticed an increase in the number of complaints to my Office from people who had been, or who were currently, in receipt of social welfare payments and who had received notice from the Department of Social Protection that they had been overpaid. The Department was demanding repayment from them.
The periods during which the overpayments accrued ranged from relatively recently to over 20 years ago. The amounts also ranged from €1,000 to over €100,000.
An examination of these complaints raised significant concerns so I decided to initiate a systemic examination of the Department’s processes in raising and collecting overpayment debts from claimants.
My Office examined local overpayment files held in two Dublin Intreo Offices. In October 2016, I sent a report of our findings to the Department for its consideration and response.
During 2016, my Office examined other individual complaints received from overpaid social welfare claimants. A total of 55 overpayment complaints have been examined. 25 have been finalised and closed. Of those closed, I upheld 15 (60%) and the overpayments were written off by the Department." Ombudsman Peter Tyndall

One significant case study by the Ombudsman showed how one woman, who was told she owed the Department of Social Protection €19,900.00 ended up receiving a €700 refund from the department:
"A woman complained to the Ombudsman after she wrote to the local office of the Department of Social Protection and failed to receive a response. The woman had received correspondence from her local office saying that an overpayment of €19,900 had been made to her. The woman was unaware of how this debt arose and had written to the Department for an explanation.
The Ombudsman contacted the Department’s local office and asked it to respond to the woman’s correspondence. While responding to the Ombudsman the Department also reviewed the woman’s social welfare payments. It discovered that her application had not been processed correctly. The woman’s income had been recalculated a number of times resulting in different outcomes, while in considering her husband’s income the Department had failed to take account of an illness that reduced his income.
Following the review, Department discovered that not only had there been no overpayment but that the woman was entitled to a refund of approximately €700."

Of course the heavy hand and the incompetence of a tight-fisted Government's bureaucracy is surely not a concern for the new Leadership of this probably-almost-worn-out-party and this newly resurgent nation. Like witches rubbing their hands around a pot of boiling toads it appears that those in power are now rubbing their hands together at the soon-to be realised profits from the upcoming housing explosion or the next bankers' revolution or some other waiting-in-the-wings Ponzi get-rich-fast scheme...

Ombudsman Peter Tyndall:
"The Department of Social Protection has strong powers of recovery in the case of overpayments made to social welfare claimants. In my discussions with the Department, among other things, I placed an emphasis on:
• ‘Poverty proofing’ – to ensure that the rate of overpayment recovery does not cause undue hardship for claimants
• Minimum standard of documentation – all documentation pertinent to the identification and raising of an overpayment debt must be maintained
• Right of appeal – claimants should have the right to challenge every aspect of the debt recovery process through the appeals framework."

Lao-Tzu (6th century BCE, possibly) in his Tao Te Ching made a comment on rulers that the new regime may do well to reflect on, though as citizens in this age-of-the-end-of-politics we know not to be too hopeful:

"The supreme rulers are hardly known by their subjects.
The lesser are loved and praised.
The even lesser are feared.
The least are despised.

Those who show no trust will not be trusted.
Those who are quiet value the words.
When their task is completed, people will say:
We did it ourselves
."

[Tao Te Ching chapter 17]

Related Link: http://www.globalrights.info/2017/06/ireland-new-head-arrives-same-old-reactionary-politics/
© 2001-2024 Independent Media Centre Ireland. Unless otherwise stated by the author, all content is free for non-commercial reuse, reprint, and rebroadcast, on the net and elsewhere. Opinions are those of the contributors and are not necessarily endorsed by Independent Media Centre Ireland. Disclaimer | Privacy